Kentucky Teacher In Trouble For Politically Charged Statements

South Laurel County High School teacher Kendra Baker is drawing complaints from parents and students after she wrote, “You can’t be a democrat and go to heaven.”

Superintendent Doug Bennett told the Sentinel-Echo that the class had been discussing politics around election day, and Baker wrote the statement — which is reportedly a student comment — on the board. The statement was not part of a formal curriculum or lesson plan.

“It should not be in the classroom at all,” Mary Gilbert, the mother of a South Laurel County senior told LEX18. “What happened, should not have happened…. You don’t send them to school to have someone else’s opinion shoved down their throat and demand they agree with it. It’s appalling. it’s wrong.”

Gilbert says that her daughter was ridiculed for trying to defend other students in the class, and no longer wants to go back to school, now opting to be home schooled. The mother says that the teen was subject to name calling and bullying, and she believes that her daughter was bullied by the teacher.

Upon investigation, district officials found the the teacher in violation of a district policy that charges teachers with the responsibility to maintain positive learning environments that are fostered by mutual respect and trust. Bennett says that Baker, who has been a high school teacher for 17 years, was reprimanded for her actions, but will continue teaching in her classroom.

If the teacher wrote the note as it is pictured, she should have been fired for reasons other that her politics but for not knowing that “Democrat” as well as “Republican” are proper nouns requiring capitalization.